Drier



Sept. 7 1926.

H. SIEBEN DR;CER

File 1 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 air may be Patent ed Sept. 7, 1926.

UNITED STATES 1,598660 PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY SIEBEN, OF KAN SAS CITY, MISSOURI..

DBIER.

Applica tion flled November 16 1925. Serial No. 69,326.

F1g. 1 is a perspective view of a drief embody1ng my improvements, parts being broken away for better illus'tration.

Fig, 2 is a vertical section of the drier, arrows indicating the path of the air.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail perspective view of Part of the drier, articularly illustrating the air jacket am? the 1eflectors directing air from the jacket into the top of.the drier.

Referring more in'detail to the drawings, 1 designates a housing of any suitable size and material,but preferably constructed of rust-proof metal havin the lower portion 013 its front permanent y closed by a panel 2 and the upper ortion having side guides 3 slidably mounting a door 4, which,

whei1 in functional position, closes an opening 5 embracing the upper half of the front- 0f the housing and 1s adapted f0r lowering in the gu1des to expose the openi11g when artio]es are to be inserted into or removed from the housing. The door is hung 011 ropes 6 ran over ull eys 7 and 8 at the upper corxiers cf the ousing and connected W1th weights 9 that are adapted for Vertica'l movement in casings 10 at the rear corners of the housing.

The door is provided with a handle bar 11 by which it may be manipulated and has an opening 12 normally closed by a hinged cover13 which may be raised to permit 0bservation of the contents of the drier. The top of the housing is provided with ports 14 arranged. in transverse rows, through which air may be delivered into the top of the drying chamber, and one end of the housin with orts 15 thiough whieh elivere into the body of the chanribe r as presentlydescribed a row of orts 16 being loeated in the end walladacent the bottom of th h0u5ing. The

ports 14 and 15 are unobstructed, but the ports 16 are provided with a flat valve 17, hingedly mounted on the inner face of the end Wall to bang over the ports 16 and close the same except under the operati1'1g conditions presently described.

Located over the top of the housing and extending down over the ends thereof is a. j acket 18 preferably of sheet metal, bent 120 form a top and sides with ;the edges of the sides turned inwardly to :Edrm the supporting flanges 19 of sufiicient width to support the jacket without obstructing any of the ports in the housing walls, the jacket being spaced from the housing wall to form a conduit through which heated air may be conducted to the staveral pa1-ts.

At one end of t-he housing the conduit is enlarged to house a gas burner 20 of any suitable construction and preferably supported within' the conduit by a. pipe 21 which extends through the end of the comduit and connects with a supply pi e 22,

having a ControL va1ve 23. The gas urner is directly enclosed within a casing 24: formed of sheet metal bent to U-shape and secured to the ends of the conduit by welding or otherwise, the Walls of the casing being spaced from the walls of the conduit to form air passages 25 at the front and back of the burner, and the bottom of the casing bei'ng provided wi th perforat ions 26 through which combustion supportmg an may pass.

In the upper end of the combu stion chamher portion 0f the conduit is a vent gpening 27 surrounded by a flange 28 carrymg a damper cap 29, whereby exhaust of gases from the burner may be controlled.

The conduit extends over the end of the housing opposite ehe combustion chamber to near th bottom of the housing in order to confine flow of air about the housing and direct it t0 the apertures 15.

-Attached to the top 0f the housing, w1thin the' conduit and extending transversely thereacross, adjacent rows.of the apertures 14 re bafliia p1ates 30, preferably formed of sheet metal,the flanges 31 of which lie against the top of the housing and are secured thereto by rivet s 32, the bdies of the plates b nng forwardly inalined to trap air pass1ng through the conduit and direct it througli the apertures 14 into the drying chamber. VVhile-the gas burnr may heat the an to the il6Sired temperature, I prefer to supplement this heating eifect by electrical heaters arranged locally relative t0 the haffle plates so that heating of the air a's it enters the top of' the dryingchamber may be assur ed. A preferred form of such electrica] heaters comprises a resistance bar 33 which is attached t0 the top of the hqusing and extended transversely thereover forwardly of the row of perforations 14 located directly in advance of a baflie platze. Connected with 821011 of the resistance barS is a circuit wire 34, leading to aSwitch 35 mounted 0n the housing so that flow of current may be conv.eniently controlled. There may be any desired number of baflle plates am] electric heaters employed in. combination with the gas burner to secure an even distribution of heated air t0 the to of the drying chambe1. In order t0 e ec:t such distribution I preferably graduate the height of the baflle plates, the first plate in train-projecting but slightly into the condu'it in order to intercept a, small .part of the air volume; the succeeding baflie being higher, and the last baflie in trainleaving lbut a narrow channel for the assage of air into the vertical portion of the coii'dit.

The lower corner of the housing opposite the row of apertures 16 is divided 011 by a partition 36 formi1'1g 11 oompartment 37 f01 an air blower 38 which may constitute an ordinary electric fan but wh1ch is arranged to draw air through openings 39 in the lower Portion of the partition 36 and exhaust it through an opening 40 in the end of the housing. -The openings" 39 in the partition are made variable as to a1ea by damper plate 41 slidable on the artition 36 und the exhaust opening 40 is CoVered by a screen 42 serving as a guard for the fan; The fan may be supphed with current thro l igh circuit wires 43 leading from the switch 35 as an ordinary cord und current may be supplid for the'electric heaters and fan through wires 44 ha.ving a plug 45 that may be connected to a house wiring system through an ordinary Wall socket. 4

While the housing chamber may be equipped with. any suitable means for supporting articles to be dried, I prefer to equip it with a rack comprising the inclined end bars 46 having notches 47 'f01' carrying the cross bars 48, as with this arrangement the cross bars may be easily und quickly positioned on the rails and only a Suffic1ent number need be employed for calrying the.articles to be dried.

I a.1so preferably provide the drier with a disinfectant holder 49 which ma.ybe in any sifitable form, und with a la.mp 50 which maybe "connected in the circuit with the heatiars and blower.

Assuming the drier fno b e construiztgd and assembled as (I6s0ribd, the gas burn'er i n it d and current supplied to the (algsqigrm heaters and to the blower, ai1 passingup through the open intake end of the jacket conduit support s combustion f0r the as burner, heating the air within the con uit so that the airtends to rise und flow in the upper horizontal portion, thereby drawing fresh ai1 through the passageways 25 at the Sides of the burner housin to further support combust ion and promde a volume for drying purposes.

'As the air is driven forwardly in the direction of the arrows, some of it comes in contact with the first baffle plate and is diverted downwardly through apertures in on to the last baflle where the Same opera fiion is repeated on some of the remaining air. The balance of the ai1 is forced dOWI1- wardly through the portion of the conduit ab the end of the ho using opposite the gas burner and finally eiscapes into the drymg chamber.

Simultaneously with this operation, the fan draws air through the damper openin' in the partition 36, cr'eating a suction withm the lower Portion 0f the drying chamber, which is sufiicieqt to open the flap valve 17 and expose the orts 16 t0 incoming air. This 'bottom flow of air, being cool, is held to the bottom cf the housing und, being fresh, absorbs moisture' that 1s drawn 0ut of the articles supported 011 the rack so that saturation cf the ai r in the chamber is 1Woided.

It is apparent that with the construction described, a thermo-siphonic efiect is produced in the conduit, which romotes circulation of the hea.ted air und t at expansion of the air a11d mechanical -deflection by the baflle plates will insu1e diversion of art 0f the air from the conduit into the top 0f the heating chamber and flow of the balance through the conduit and eventually into the drying chamber through the side orts, so that articles suspended 011 the rack are subjectedto both a downward und upward flow oi heated air which eventually all escapes from the chamber through the outlet opening 40, the moisture saturated 2 i1' pas5i11g downwardly through the up-flowmg volume of heated air.

It is ap arent that by my arrangement df supply ex aust of heated air to und from the heating chamber und postive circul ation of the air through a'nd about the clothes, meisl sur9 is extracted from the clotheg 5 that the dryin is efiected by said curreht of a ir carryingt; e moisture away' from the fabnc.

While I have described my drier as adaptd fbr laundry use, I du not wish to so limit the inventin, as the drier may be employed as a dehydrator for fruits und vegetables and for other purposes.

What I claim und desire to secu re by Letters-Patent is 1. In a drier, a housing, a, jacket enclosing portions of the housing and forming a 0011- duit thereabout, and. means for heating air within the conduit, the housing having orts communicating its interior with sa.id comduit.

2. Im a drier, a housing, a jackiat enclosing portions of the housing and forming a c-oniuit thereabout, means for heating an wit-hin the conduit, the housing having p0 rts communicating with said conduit, and -means in said conduit 1501 deflecting air through said ports.

3. In a drier, 21 housing, a jacket enclosing portions of the housing and forming a. conduit thereabout, means f0r heating air within 1i;he conduit, the housin hav'ing perts communicating with said con nit, means in said conduit for diaflecting air through said gorts, und other heating means lecal to said.

4:. In a drier, a housing, a jacket forming a conduit exterior to the' housing, the housing having transverse rows of orts communicating its interior with sa1d conduit, and transverse bafles in said conduit, euch rearwardl of a row, of ports.

5. In a drier, a housing, a jacket forming a. conduit (exterior t0 the housing, the housing having transv@rse rows of orts communicating its interior with sind eonduit, and a series of baflies 0f gradually inc'reasing heights, arranged transversely in said conduit, each reatward; of a row 0f ports.

6. In a dlfie1, a housing, a. jacket 0n the top wall and portions of the end walls of the housing forming an exterior conduit, operi at 011e .end and. c losed at th other end, thc a housing ha'ving Ports communicating its chamber with the conduit, a heaterin tha open end} of the conduifls, und mearis for maintainin a circulation of air through the conduit an housing chamber.

In testimony whereof1 a my si atme.

' HENRY SIE EN 

